East Riding Honey and Bee Supplies

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Not all Honey is the Same Bees collect nectar from flowers to take back to their hives and turn into honey. Each type of flower has its own distinctive type of nectar. When bees collect nectar from different types of flowers (such as dandelions, brambles and apple trees) the honey they produce is usually the golden runny honey most people expect to see on their breakfast table. Migratory Beekeeping It is possible though to move beehives to areas where there is really only one type of flower so that all the bees collect just one type of nectar. The honey the bees produce in this way is known as a “monofloral” honey and it will have a distinctive character,flavour and colour. We move our bees to the flowers throughout the season. The process of doing it is fairly simple and involves going to the hives in the evening when all the bees are at home, blocking up the entrance to each hive, strapping the hive up tightly and then loading it, with others, onto a trailer. This is usually done at night or in the early morning. The trailer full of hives is then taken to a new location where there are fresh flowers for the bees to work. This type of beekeeping is known as ‘migratory’ beekeeping and can be pretty hard work for the beekeeper. Hives can be heavy and awkward to carry,its hot and difficult work but moving hives to where the flowers are can mean not only more honey, but different types. The photo on the left shows hives on a field overlooking the river Humber near Melton after having been moved to a Borage field. Hives are moved on a seasonal journey that takes them from the oil seed rape in May and June, to the Borage in July and finally to the Heather Moors in August. In September the hives come home to their winter sites in East Yorkshire. Use the buttons on this screen to follow that journey and find out about the different honeys they produce. Agent for Thorne Beekeeping Equipment